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New DVD explores life of Funny Car pioneer Zeigler

Phillip Gary Smith, go2geiger Columnist
Tuesday, 02 February 2010

Twig Zeigler

Was it 1972 or 2008? That’s what nostalgia drag racing will do to you. One forgets the time, even what year it is, or was.

When Funny Car pioneer Twig Ziegler staged his gloss orange Pizza Haven Funny Car across from the famous Bubble-Up machine a couple of years ago, it definitely was a Yogi Berra "deja-vu all over again" moment...just one with a quarter-century interruption.

This documentary traces Twig’s self-taught mechanical expertise and early trade school training to the point where he taught college courses in auto and diesel mechanics himself at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Ore.

It's a heartwarming story of determination on his part and love of the man and his knowledge by his students, who once transported Twig to class for an entire semester -- even though he was incapacitated after a horrifying top-end crash and confined to a wheelchair -- rather than face cancellation of his course. The students wanted this master training them. He told me, "It was the best college term of my life."

Twig's rolling, tumbling accident, recreated in the DVD from television footage at the scene, details a scary situation along with this somewhat humorous, understated headline in the local newspaper: "Ziegler’s Season Starts on Bad Note." Gee, you think?

In many ways, the wreck defines his life, as it was his same determination, honor, and caring of others illustrated throughout this movie that got him through the recovery process and his life in general.

A little unconventional compared to his contemporaries, as exemplified by a lengthy break in racing simply because dad needed to be at home with his family.

This story really is a tale of three Twigs. One is the longhaired, bearded fellow in the early 1970s, looking like there was not a care in the world. He gently reminded me, "When racing in the 70s, there was the hippie movement."

Then there is "Big Time" Twig, when he was a top qualifier at Indy, setting a top speed record, for a round, at Pomona, racing with all of the names of the times like Prudhomme, Force, Dunn, Leong, and McCulloch. "We were like a band of gypsies. We were on the road every night of the week on the Coca-Cola Circuit."

Now there is a renewed Twig, totally absorbed in Nostalgia Fuel Funny Car drag racing. He truly embraces the limelight, taking to it like a summer’s moth smothering a Georgia porch light.

The DVD takes fully advantage of his South Dakota narrative voice, directing the viewer through his life one crash at a time. This distinguished, well-spoken racer today looks little like the oil-splattered mechanic/driver fighting a Funny Car back in the day. Part of that change came after his Boise crash, the one occurring during his teaching duties.

"After the crash, I said I would shave the beard and cut the hair as soon as I could get out of the wheelchair." In the aftermath, a handsome, distinguished pioneer of the sport of drag racing was unveiled.

Twig Ziegler is one of the good guys. At the 2009 Las Vegas Nationals, just before the final runs of the race weekend, he was honored by running an exhibition lap in the Pizza Ranch Funny Car. He lamented, "This Nostalgia hot rod is the first time I’ve ever had to slow down a dragster!" Afterward, John Force told him, "I can remember you kickin’ my ass in Seattle." Twig quipped, "Yeah, and Spokane, too."

Twig’s appreciation of John Force’s accomplishments parallels his own in many ways. Not the championships, not the national events won, but in the digging and scratching to race without the advantages of "being shot in the butt with diamonds," as Don Prudhomme called those who came to the track with buckets of family money.

Force told him, "I have to bring all my crew over to see your car," explaining the young age of many crewmembers of his consortium had never seen such a hot rod up close. "That is where we got started."

For not winning a national event, Twig certainly earned a highlight reel to rival most. The movie details the famous side-by-side duel of Kenny Goodell and Twig where Goodell’s car erupts in flames with a memorable photo snapped just as the yellow of the torch was enveloping the body, wheel wells, and frame. The DVD nicely ties in the parallel of Twig giving his descriptions and on the other part of the screen the photo or action he is referencing.

Then there was, perhaps, his most famous crash, an upside down flight down the track in Seattle 1976. Captured by photographer Larry Fitster just before the soaring Funny Car, inches away, touched the pavement, it looked "basically like an airplane," Twig explained. The photo lives in infamy. "Nobody remembers my top qualifying, but you mention my name and they’ll say, 'Oh, you mean the upside down flying Satellite!'"

This is an hour-long course in thrilling drag racing history filled with anxieties, authentic human emotion…a boy whose dad was killed in Okinawa just five days after his birth, grows up to the big time…and lots and lots of hot rods. Moreover, there is a special 14 minutes of his appearance at Oregon’s Woodburn Dragway in 2009. If you have never known this drag racing soldier, by the end of the show you will respect him, embrace his warmth, and be stirred by his wonderful heart. Every one needs a little Twig in their lives.

In addition, a special highlight, a question you no doubt are wondering by now, an answer not easy to come by -- where did the name ‘Twig’ come from? "Well," he begins, "it all started with my skinny older brother who wrestled in high school. With his diminutive size, he was teased with the kids sticking him with the name 'bear' as a kind of a joke. So, I come along as a runner and being a little heavy. There was a famous model at the time, Twiggy, who was sticks and bones in size. So they nicknamed me 'Twig' after her. And it stuck."

The production quality of Twig Zeigler’s DVD is high; special effects and action dynamics make the time zip; CLS Productions has put together a winning movie about a winner of life, Twig Ziegler.

E-mail CLS Productions via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and grab a copy. Then, share it! In this age of so many who are dissatisfied, The Twig Ziegler Story is uplifting, proving the merit of motivational guru, Zig Ziglar’s admonition, "It's not what you've got, it's what you use that makes a difference."

Here is a bonus: a YouTube clip of Twig racing against a Jet Funny Car. Twig pulls off one of his famous John-Force-like burnouts, smokin’ nearly full track, and then a win:

http://bigfunny.net/video/4246/Twig-Zeigler-up-against-a-jet-funny-car,Mission-B.C..html

Your comments about Twig or this story? Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

All information published on go2geiger.com is protected by all applicable copyright laws of the United States of America and is the sole property of go2geiger.com unless mentioned otherwise. It is intended solely for the private use of the individual reader and may not be retransmitted or reposted in any form without the prior written permission of go2geiger.com.

Media Matters: Snake vs. Mongoose a must-read

Phillip Gary Smith, go2geiger Columnist
Wednesday, 23 December 2009

Feuds, quarrels, and fusses have long been a part of drag racing. Human emotions are part of the thrill of the sport as two drivers line up side-by-side and settle scores the old fashion way: a race to the end of a drag strip. The winner not only grasps a trophy, a check, and the smugness only found in victory, the winner also earns promotional currency that can be spent in developing a bigger future and more successful racing career.

So what if a couple of drag racers teamed up to race around the country while marketing themselves as bitter rivals with a feud, with both men earning money, 'promotional currency,' and leveraging the sport to the mass markets?

In his book, Snake vs. Mongoose: How a Rivalry Changed Drag Racing Forever, motorsports author and drag racer Tom Madigan lays out the complete story of two men, now icons, Tom "the Mongoose" McEwen and Don "the Snake" Prudhomme, who helped lead the way to large corporate sponsors the sport enjoys today. Mattel packaged their competitive human emotions and rode a phenomenon rivaling any seen in the sport.

The book has elements that will amuse, confuse, and bemuse the reader absorbing this pictorial delight. Then, without warning, the whole tale comes together in a very poignant moment of the adventure, slamming the reader into their seat as though they've hit the accelerator on a Funny Car, leaving one exhausted and emotionally spent afterward but warmly satisfied.

Enjoying this book is like a day at an NHRA national event; there are thrills, twists, and angles at every turn in this three-ring circus. Madigan fills the book with extensive facets of the relationship between the Snake and the Mongoose, offering the reader insights otherwise unknown into the lives of these two men. His lively writing races the sport right off the page and is complemented with dramatic color photography that proves the danger these drivers endured on every run. Additionally both Prudhomme and McEwen write their own version of this historical relationship along with eight extensive multipage 'sidebars,' providing incredible narration and perspective of the times.

In a particularly entertaining chapter, titled "Snake vs. Mongoose Unplugged," the author interviews both the Snake and the Mongoose together, "in a face-to-face smackdown format and puts to rest any misconceptions, spuriousness, falsification, or skullduggery conducted by either party." Madigan writes, "My attempt to maintain order and calm turned into the equivalent of a 10-year-old trying to hold the attention of two 8-year-olds."

Today, Prudhomme, on television or at the track, is "Mr. Cool," displaying little emotion winning or losing, except for a barely perceptible smile or grimace. In the book, you see a young guy wanting to win and willing to work endlessly to have that happen. You feel the sting when he loses, as Madigan writes, "He paid his dues."

McEwen, not as visible but still in the game today, is really recognized as the promotional guy of the twosome, thinking up the famous idea of inviting Mattel to sell Hot Wheels toys based on their cars and nicknames, a revolutionary idea at the time. This idea, as Roland Leong states, "showed us the way to the future," ushering in the big-time sponsorships that reached a broader audience with non-automotive sponsors.

Colorful Mattel ads from the era come alive in the book, including the memorable Hot Wheels Mongoose and Snake Drag Race Set, featuring a loop-de-loop gravity race set up complete with a finish line arch triggering the automatic flag to signal the winner. No Wii here, this was a real hands-on experience.

Page after page of photos, many in bright color from the 1960s and 70s, populate the book. I found hours of entertainment by exploring those images, studying the looks of the dragsters and also the crowds, what they wore and even what they drove to the track as at that time, fans parked right up to the guard rails.

Just a few of the photo highlights include the red 1957 Chevy Funny Car, a classic, of McEwen’s, a Ford experiment called the Super Mustang featuring a hatch covering the driver of the Top Fuel dragster, and individual photos of Tom and Don at the track. The "photo of the book" award goes to the image of Prudhomme’s Shelby Super Snake dragster, featuring its white headers, launching at Carlsbad Raceway as fans watched up close and personal. And, yes, the Shelby is the famous Carroll Shelby.

The book allows you to listen in to the needling that went on between these two, particularly by McEwen, creating the promotional sensation of a feud, but seemingly done sometimes tongue-in-cheek. Madigan writes that McEwen was "proven to be an exceptional promoter, businessman, and overall thinker," who commissioned a portrait of "the meanest-looking mongoose ever created," and quipped, "Someone called them rats on LSD."

The Snake says he worked so hard to win because, "I wasn’t shot in the ass with diamonds; I had to work." McEwen is given the nod for his ability to leave on Prudhomme and win some of the majors along the way. But the book makes it clear that the Snake’s mechanical ability was exceptional, in part because of his intensity, and he won more than his share of the match races and other pairings they had. If one ever thought these two prearranged who would win a round, you will leave this book understanding they did not, and given their personalities, it could never have happened.

Their importance to the growth of the sport is demonstrated in the deal with Mattel, conceived and executed by McEwen. As a person very interested in the development of companies and how many can seize opportunities while others drop the ball, I particularly enjoyed the segment that detailed the vision of Mattel in promoting this "rivalry" and how they capitalized on the collectibles market with an affordable product.

I was squished on an airplane at 35,000 feet, reading much of the book I had initially just scanned. Originally opening the book, I had been absorbed in the beautiful photography handsomely displayed by the publisher, Motorbooks, an imprint of MBI Publishing.

Then, out of the blue, here comes this bombshell in the narrative. I was grabbed by a story that had the Snake losing a major event to McEwen, but afterwards jumping out of his Funny Car, running over to McEwen’s car, and clutching him as they both broke down, crying in a very private way. I am not going to spoil this account here, or give it away -- it is too important for that. You need to discover it for yourself. I will tell you my eyes watered for those moments, stuck in a window seat, looking at the blue beyond, reading in shock as raw human emotion spilled out of these pages.

Madigan closes his book thusly, "For sure, Mattel’s Hot Wheels program that featured the Snake and the Mongoose put drag racing on the map…Corporate American came to drag racing on the heels of an idea dreamed up by Tom McEwen. And, drag racing is better for the effort...The 50 years I’ve known the Snake and the Mongoose…have brought me a better understanding of what life is all about. Life is about giving of yourself and always playing fair. Tom McEwen and Don Prudhomme have done both."

The kids who lived in the Hot Wheels era are adults these days and one wrote the author to explain how deep of an impact this rivalry had on his life. He characterized the Mongoose and the Snake as bringing a "kids excitement and joy. They came and raced then took time to be with fans. They always played fair, and as I watched countless times, an understanding came over me about how to be a man."

What a phenomenal observation -- this man learned how to be a man, handling the vicissitudes of life, continuing to make his way in life, one quarter mile at a time. Interestingly, drag racing, the sport, continues to offer that opportunity.

E-mail me your thoughts and memories to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

This book is available online at www.motorbooks.com/Store/ProductDetails_42293.ncm.

All information published on go2geiger.com is protected by all applicable copyright laws of the United States of America and is the sole property of go2geiger.com unless mentioned otherwise. It is intended solely for the private use of the individual reader and may not be retransmitted or reposted in any form without the prior written permission of go2geiger.com.

Media Matters: Awards Ceremony in cyberspace

Phillip Gary Smith, go2geiger Columnist
Sunday, 29 November 2009

The NHRA Full Throttle Awards Ceremony launched into cyberspace this year, broadcasting virtually the entirety of the night utilizing the capabilities of You Tube.

In previous years the program was squeezed into a single broadcast hour, so much of the flavor of the night was lost. For example, last year Bob Frey came off on television as somewhat uninspired though sources later confirmed my suspicions that in fact he was quite good, as usual. It was just that so much was cut in the squeezing process to fit the program in the time slot. This year, Internet viewers got to hear all his jokes and adlibs, which were often laugh-out-loud funny. Some glitches still need attention as the pieces -- the awards ceremony is broken into five segments -- were not posted at the announced times on NHRA.com.

Otherwise, this is the exciting two-and-a-half hour broadcast wave of the future. You are encouraged to view it for yourself, perhaps using this review as a guide for areas to fast-forward through, saving some time. With each section running under 30 minutes or so, it is easier for one to fit a slice of the night in a reasonable schedule.

Three-minute Opening Montage: First feature of the night. You might be surprised how important it is to be included in this film. At events such as this, everyone in attendance always looks to see if they are in it, right? Plus, since these are some of the most animated moments of the year, perhaps it will stimulate all racers to perform on camera in an enthusiastic manner in 2010.

Frey's opening monologue: Bob was outstanding in his master of ceremonies role. Regarding his suit, he said, "I look less geeky," and later claimed wearing this would have allowed him to "look like a pimp" in Vegas. I suggest it was a tremendous improvement over 2008, professorial in stature -- Dark blue tux, lighter blue vest, with a light pink shirt and blue/white pimple tie. He was particularly excited about his pink socks and gave everyone a glance, pulling up his pant leg. Fortunately, dinner was over.

Bob was very funny with his self-effacing humor but also with jokes. For example, he cracked that Matt Smith had a great year. Though not winning the Pro Stock Motorcycle championship he did marry Angie McBride. "Let’s face it Matt, at the end of the night I’m hanging out with Stat Boy Lewis Bloom, and you’re with Angie." Angie was shown at the table laughing uproariously.

Regarding Tony Pedregon and John Force, Bob said, "Am I the only one surprised they’re not sitting at the same table?"

Later, in a failed Twitter joke about the air time Ashley Force receives, jealously twittered from her cat, Simba, the crowd barely chuckled, Bob ad-libbed, "What, an audience full of dog lovers out there?"

Technical Suggestion: Because he wears a microphone, Bob should not applaud, as it is too loud in the microphone, distracting the audio. Ditto for all the presenters. In fact, there needs to be an applause champion or two in the audience as the crowd often seemed lethargic. Five hours including dinner will do it to you.

Opportunities to Shorten the Program: I would suggest omitting Tom Compton’s segment. Yes, I know his title and appreciate his efforts but the guy is just not comfortable in front of a crowd and it's equally tough on us. Bob Frey read a twitter on this subject of shortening the program, reputedly from Cruz Pedregon: "Cut down on time for speeches," a joke about his rambling, extra-long message at the 2008 broadcast.

Coca-Cola Chief Marketing Officer-Active Lifestyle Brand, Rohan Oza: Opened with this dramatic statement: "Being with NHRA Drag Racing is a no-brainer." What a presence on stage, a great lesson on how to perform in front of a group (are you listening Tom?), likely a key to why he carries the title he does. Notice, he did not applaud while wearing his microphone. Rohan was the first person all season to enunciate Hector’s last name, Arana, to perfection.

Inside Tip: Full Throttle Beverages will be "new and improved," Rohan said, "we’re introducing a new hard-working formula and new look inspired by old school car decals." Sounds exciting. I hope that means they will be able to get my favorite Full Throttle Coffee Mocha drinks distributed in Minnesota.

A Loose Mike Dunn: No uptight guy here; Mike was funny from the get-go and looked sharp in the tux outfit set off with a sharp, bright, pink/white tie. His joke about why he is not twittering was great, though the crowd seemed not to know if it was okay to laugh.

Full Throttle Moment Awards: Evidently, the broadcast cut the winner’s remarks after each 'Moment' award, which leads one to ask if such remarks are necessary, another possible time saver. Ashley Force Hood, accepting her Full Throttle Moment Award for the Funny Car Class, looked every bit the Princess of Drag Racing she is, wearing an elegant, long gown set off by a jeweled empire-waistline belt. Surprise winner for this award in Top Fuel was Antron Brown with a margin of victory that would win a "Who Got the Light?" award if it were a drag race. Over 40,000 votes came in the final two weeks, validating the success and newfound popularity of this honor.

Pro Stock Motorcycle
Best Glasses: The big black frames worn by Shawn Gann.

Princess of Pro Stock Motorcycles: Carrying the crown for women racers in this class, Karen Stoffer wore a sophisticated dark blue gown. A great look for a driver whose favorite off-track activity is running around sand dunes on a four-wheeler.

Hector: After a stirring intro by Bob Frey, Hector took the stage to accept his championship wearing a dark suit set off by a striking mixed-orange tie. He also wins "Best Hair of the Night" with Mike Dunn giving a close chase.

Pro Stock
Something to Change: There has to be a better way to get the drivers on stage without the awkward and time-consuming "walk on." The drivers seem uncomfortable and it's certainly uncomfortable to watch.

Coolest Guy in Pro Stock: Had to be the driver on stage with the open neck white shirt but distinctive yellow colored handkerchief -- Jeg Coughlin Jr. Who else had the gall to wear such a snazzy look to a formal affair?

Most Comfortable in his Tux: Allen Johnson wore a super look with the decorated light-gray vest underneath a dark tuxedo, exuding plenty of charisma in front of the camera, pointing directly to some of his posse in the crowd.

Best Lines: Mike Edwards, "I want to thank Bruce Allen for reminding me that racing is not the most important thing in life." Plus, he quipped, "These cars don’t run on gas; they run on cash."

Finally, this gem -- "We had pursued this championship for a long time. Terry Adams, your talent and experience carried us to this championship. Not bad for a red neck and a hillbilly." I wonder which one is the hillbilly?

A surprising result to me, but his speech graded out as the best of the night.

Funny Car
NHRA’s Rolling Stone: "Best thing that can happen to you is being on the cover of National DRAGSTER," said Don Prudhomme in this taped segment, celebrating the 50th year of publication. "Everybody wants to be on the cover."

Snazziest Tux: Del Worsham sporting a light gold woven vest and matching silk tie with his dark outfit.

Most Daring: Black on black with a black tie worn by Tony Pedregon, throwing a kiss out to his table like a movie star.

Staying Edgy: No old man look for Tim Wilkerson, spicing up his dark tux with bright orange silk neckwear.

Most Emotional: Jimmy Prock was obviously deeply affected by his driver, Robert Hight, winning the Funny Car championship, also his first, as evidenced by his poignant expression during Hight’s acceptance speech. Robert also set a moon-shot objective by commenting to Jimmy, "Let’s win some more championships; We only need 13 more to catch Coil," who was caught on camera at his table enjoying that remark.

Dave Rieff: His enthusiasm and voice provided the words for each review of the top nine of each pro class. Try speaking as fast as he did in those clips.

Top Fuel
Best Tie: Morgan Lucas, setting off the dark tux and vest with a rose-colored, white dot tie.

Risk Taker: Who else but Cory McClenathan could pull off appearing with a silver chain dangling a cross, a paisley vest over a dark shirt, but this driver on his 17th trip on the Top 10 stage.

Best Outfit: Antron Brown wearing a bright blue vest and matching tie on a white shirt, set off by the dark tux.

Gold Ties: Larry Dixon wore a gold tie, as did teammate Del Worsham, but chose to combine it with a dark shirt and vest. He appeared to be uncomfortable in the runner-up role as if those two points he was short in the race for the championship were still stinging.

Schumacher’s Speech: Giving kudos to Mike Edwards' talk, he said, "I feel blessed that I have been able to live this moment." His talk was the most powerful of the night, as it was in 2008. "I want that trophy to sit at Fort Hood. I want to be the one to present it. I want them to have something to smile about." The room sat mesmerized as he said, "The soldiers inspired us."

FYI…Some of the colors I described may be off somewhat as cameras, lights, the Internet, old eyes, all play a role in what one sees. Drivers and participants are welcome to correct this by dropping me an email.

How about your favorite moments? Email me: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

All information published on go2geiger.com is protected by all applicable copyright laws of the United States of America and is the sole property of go2geiger.com unless mentioned otherwise. It is intended solely for the private use of the individual reader and may not be retransmitted or reposted in any form without the prior written permission of go2geiger.com.

Media Matters: Two points makes difference

Phillip Gary Smith, go2geiger Columnist
Wednesday, 18 November 2009

"A story a Hollywood writer would want," Paul Page exclaimed, “The top two (Nitro Dragsters) are separated by two points.”

Alan Johnson surmised, “It’s a chess game today.” On the other side, Tony Schumacher wagered, “Fans will get their money’s worth.”

In opening the drama known as the Auto Club Finals, two championships were determined this race day by those two little points, approximately .0008 of the total earned this season by each team. This number is a small enough to qualify for its own ‘Who Got the Light Award,’ except this would be called ‘Who Got the Championship Award.’ Top Fuel started and ended the day with a two-point spread between the top two in an amazing outcome; Pro Stock Motorcycle astonishingly ended with this tiny two-point differential between its top two.

For Top Fuel, this excitement was more than just the standard points chase. It validated the new points available for award through qualifying rounds and placement. Excitingly, qualifying ended up determining the final margin of victory, those two points, earned in the very last qualifying round on the very last qualifying day of the year. That lap was the ultimate determiner of Tony Schumacher repeating as champion and Larry Dixon placing the number “2” on his Al-Anabi dragster in 2010.  

You have to like this: What better description of a dragster power plant are you going to have than Paul Page’s remark, “(These dragsters have) 8000 horsepower from 500 little bitty cubic inches.”

Why Cory blew: Cory McClenathan’s Fram dragster lites up big time down track, winning after first round opponent, Bob Vandergriff, goes up in smoke. Watching the replays, Mike Dunn speculated the reason appeared to be something like “breaking a clutch input” to cause that kind of destruction. Making a note of his quick analysis, I suspected ESPN2 would chase down the cause. Later, in the pits with the engine replaced, a camera showed the damage, and Dave Rieff reported the problem resulted from ... a broken clutch input. Conclusion: Mike Dunn knows his stuff.

Clydesdale track record: Taking their last stroll down the quarter-mile, the massive Budweiser Clydesdales walked a ‘quick’ 5:11 and defined a new measure of horsepower. With eight of these giants towering over the quarter mile, they represent a kind of nitro-version of horses; they are that big. In addition, Kenny Bernstein was surprised with his own Clydesdale, a tribute to him from Budweiser, along with a couple of very large red shovels. Their 30-year association officially ended in the second round of Top Fuel, third pair, and 3.856 seconds later as Antron Brown edged Brandon by about 20 feet. FYI: The Clydesdales would have travelled nearly 16.3 feet in the same time.

Double red light: When Spencer Massey won his top fuel drag over Scott Palmer, both had red lights but Scott’s was much worse. So no matter the track times, Spencer wins. Generally, an explanation is provided when such a double red occurs from the broadcasters, but not in this case. Wonder why?

FAST NEWS Line of the Year: After a great season of brief and quirky summaries for qualifying and race rounds, Rick Green puts it altogether in these descriptions this weekend:

Left Lane:   Ryan Ondrejko    Runs    6.615/208.14,    Now #7

Best prior run:    6.635/208.07,    Was #15

Right Lane: Rodger Brogdon   Runs   6.631/209.04,     Now #8

Best prior run: 6.621/208.78,   Was #7

“Brogdon's Foghorn Leghorn says, "Ya know son, them bonus points are nice, but I think it'll be NEXT year that they'll really come into play for us!"

(W) Larry Dixon (Al-Anabi Racing Dragster)           0.052      3.822 316.23

(L) Del Cox Jr (LA King's/RG Industries dragster   0.090      5.380 124.84

“Dixon does what he had to do and makes a terrific pass ... right on down the track. Cox's car was strong to the 330 lights and then joined the ‘Up in Smoke’ club.”

Great! Something new to aspire to in the 2010 season.

(W) Mike Neff (JFR/Ford Mustang)                  0.092      4.121 306.40

(L) John Force (Castrol GTX Mustang)            0.103      4.138 306.19

“ . . . After the cars crossed the finish line, Neff's car slowed normally, but Force's first chute balled up, and the second was late, his car going about a car length into the sand pit, following his own advice, ‘If you can't win, be spectacular.’”

Gimme four shots: When the first round Funny Car race between Robert Hight and Jerry Toliver turned into a pedalfest, the television audience was rewarded by replays from four cameras, so every angle was covered. This lap was a good example how this ESPN2 production crew takes good care of its viewers, knowing we crave that kind of detail and repetition.  

Did you know this: Ashley Force Hood, interviewed after touching the wall in the final against teammate, Mike Neff, revealed an interesting detail: “I wasn’t sure I hit the wall or if it was just me hitting the roll cage padding. It wasn’t too bad. We have so much safety stuff like padding and ear protection. We also (wear) ear plugs that record how hard we hit.” Isn’t that remarkable?

Best G Man moment: Acknowledging how well Hector Aranna’s Pro Stock Motorcycle ran today and all season, Eddie Krawiec jests to Gary Gerould while being interviewed in the shut down area, “If you’d hold my bike, I’d go over there and shake Hector’s Hand.”

Gary stoutly says, “I’ll hold your bike.”

The picture snaps to the start of the Pippin-Cook round, but you hear Gary exclaiming in the microphone, “I’m holding the bike!”

Lap ends, and quickly the camera is back on Eddie, walking over and shaking Hector’s hand. In the background is G- Man looking cool in his impromptu crewman role, propping up the Vance & Hines Harley with one hand, holding the mike with the other. Now, if Eddie had only returned the favor and held the microphone, Gary could have taken a spin on the tricked-out Harley.

Men hugging on camera: In a wonderfully sentimental, end-of-season moment, two Top Fuel vets, Larry Dixon and Cory McClenathan, hug after Larry won their lap by a tiny .0014 of a second, keeping his quest alive for the moment.

Three semi-sisters: Each Force daughter was in a semi-final race: Courtney and Brittany racing each other in Alcohol Dragsters and Ashley Force Hood in her Funny Car against Ron Capps.

Rick Green’s Fast News is great in describing the Force girls Top Alcohol race:

“There will be a Force dragster in the finals. We get a family feud!

Courtney Force spanks big sister with an amazing 0.006 light and better incrementals from start to finish.”

Courtney races Jim Whitely for the Wally and gets her return spanking as he nails a .008 tree and takes home the TA Wally.

17th Qualifier: Weekly compilation of the teams just missing qualifying for the sweet sixteen of each pro class that raced on Sunday:

17. Mike Berry        MB Machining/ LAT Racing Oil   -0.058 (17th in Rounds 2, 3, 4)
17. Jeff Diehl           Nitroagogo.com Monte Carlo        -0.020 (Bumped out, 4th Round)
17. Warren Johnson K&N Filters GXP PS                     -0.002 (Just Miserable Weekend)
17. Troy Buff           Bill Miller Racing/Okuma Drgstr  -0.000 (Lost MPH tie-breaker)

2009 Year 17th Qualifier Winner: In Media Matters' race-by-race tally of those teams who are the first not qualifying for the Sunday Eliminations, Troy Buff, Bill Miller Racing and the Okuma Dragster earns the “2009 17th Qualifier Award” from the results of this last race.  

His nitro dragster was tied with Mike Strasburg’s  B & J Transmissions Dragster after four days of qualifying, both sporting 3.995 elapsed times. He lost the 16th position dual because of the rarely seen MPH tiebreaker for Top Fuel deciding the outcome.

To make matters worse, at least for Troy, Strasburg jumped from 24th  and last place to make the field with this run. Meanwhile, Troy seemed to slow down track while Lex Joon created a distraction in the other lane with a booming fire trailing his dragster for most of the run. All in all, a painful and ironic reason to pack up on Saturday afternoon and the season for the driver who made quickest and fastest Top Fuel license runs in the history of the NHRA.

Best stat: Statman laments during the "NHRA RaceDay" program, “I can’t believe it is over,” referring to the 2009 season of drag racing. For Radioactive Drag Racing News, it is not over. For Media Matters, there is a host of book reviews and other topics that will be available right here, leading up to the next time NHRA drag racing continues, right back here at Pomona.

Biggest disappointment of the day: Kurt Johnson, in a quest to keep his win-a-year streak alive nails a 0.001 light to escape the semi-finals only to lose the ‘beat the tree’ game in the finals by a red 0.017 to Greg Anderson and his .005 light. Did you know these two raced against one another last year at this event, and the results were ... a red light by Kurt?

What is a Hoodrat: Larry Dixon said he got orders to drive “like a hoodrat today” when interviewed about his hole shot win against Cory Mc. To the Urban Dictionary I go, looking up it up. I must confess thinking it might be a new kind of hood ornament, creating a trend that once again escaped me . . . nope, not even close:

“(noun.) A hood-rat is a punk, brat, troublemaker, bad up bringing. Picture a person who steals a car so they can run over a cat with it.”  

There are several versions of the definition . . . this is the most printable.

Did you already know it? Do you know other versions?

(You do not even want to know how a drag race is defined in the Urban Dictionary)

E-mail your thoughts at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and continue to educate me.

All information published on go2geiger.com is protected by all applicable copyright laws of the United States of America and is the sole property of go2geiger.com unless mentioned otherwise. It is intended solely for the private use of the individual reader and may not be retransmitted or reposted in any form without the prior written permission of go2geiger.com.

The life and times of the 'Merchants of Speed'

Phillip Gary Smith, go2geiger Columnist
Saturday, 07 November 2009

Two hundred thousand words and photographs worth millions of memories create the highly enjoyable book, Merchants of Speed, which teaches, entertains, and rewards readers with a unique view of the history of motorsports.

Paul D. Smith wrote this new book by integrating the stories and images of 26 key entrepreneurs who conceived performance products and built companies at the industry’s infancy. One early tip: their marketing plan was an old fashion formula: hard work.

Teach
Chapters chronicle the products created by the Merchants of Speed, the ideas generating the creations, how they evolved, grew, and sometimes failed. The reader comes to understand the personalities and drive of these creative men, along with their families, friends, and employees as the stories weave through the narrative.

No dullness here as Smith, writing his first book, keeps the reader riveted with a street level view of things. He is quick to note interesting angles and twists and the topic often requires a technical explanation. Smith's lifetime of all-things-mechanical prepared him for this mission, giving him the tools necessary to describe these details in a comfortable, easy manner.

When first holding the near coffee-table-sized volume and flipping through it, the extensive photo collection immediately captures the reader's attention. Most are published for the first time and one notices the captions in this book are small stories on their own. For example, a dizzying crash on the Carrell Speedway dirt race track in 1947 rates as one of my favorite photographs. A 220 Offy sprint car is upside down, flying over the wall while a dirt curtain is enveloping the image. The complete story of the incident, including the happy outcome that driver Arvol Brunmier survived, is attached with the shot.

One learns through these amazing stories how the founders of the performance industry (which, as is explained, led to the development of SEMA) created their niches, grew their business, and took an unscheduled intermission to go fight WWII.

These young men march off, leaving families and business behind, go fight the war and treat the opportunity as an honor. Taking knowledge gained from the years in the shop with them, utilizing it to aid the fighting, they return with new ideas and methods to improve their creations once peace was achieved. They picked up from where they left as if the world waited for them. Smith noted, "These were true individuals, like American folk heroes."

Patents, product branding (wonderfully creative logos are discovered), public relations, sponsorships, finances -- the same issues the sport of drag racing contend with today were issues then. No matter one’s lot in life, discover clues from these pioneers to solving challenges.

Trial and error testing was a staple of development as now, but without such aids as high-powered computer CAD systems. Louis Senter, perhaps the most prolific product developer of the time, said, "I held the belief that if you tried it and it didn’t work, try it again."

The sheer paucity of safety equipment, the high school experiences of tooling around in a roadster, hot rod clubs, dry lakes drag racing -- all were pieces of the culture that surrounded these entrepreneurs. Their world involved bravado, often exhibited in motorized competitions of every sort imaginable -- speed demon, Mickey Thompson, pouring nitro into his riding lawn mower to win a race with neighbors is just one example. These are but a few samples Merchants of Speed offers in exploring the fascinating growth of products for our hot rods, whether for roads or a drag strip.

Entertain
As the author describes, everyone knows, "Orange County Airport is considered to be the opening of the first recognized drag strip in the country to run on a regular schedule, but one drag race predates that opening." Do you know it? Neither did I, but a clue would be Goleta, California. In typical fashion for the infancy of drag racing, setting the tone for the sport to this day, there was a grudge involved that day in 1949, spinning around a tricky fuel additive called nitro. On this genesis day came perhaps the very first car ever built just for drag racing.

Scroll forward 20 years to 1969 and a name key to the Goleta event, Howard Johansen, entered a dragster named "Rattler" with Larry Dixon Sr. in the seat, capturing the NHRA Winternationals. When next visiting the NHRA museum viewing the "Rattler" on display, you will know in true Paul Harvey style, "The Rest of the Story."

An amusing picture contrasting modern versions of glamorous travel homes dominating the scenery at a drag strip was Johansen’s homemade conversion of a travel trailer to a bus -- an image that provides the reader a sense of the incredible ingenuity and creative genius behind the smudged faces. As Butch Cassidy slyly mumbles to the Sundance Kid in their legendary movie, "Kid, I have vision when the rest of the world wears bifocals," a sentiment that goes a long way to explain how these merchants went about conceiving their ideas.

There are hundreds of black and white photos in the book, each imparting its own feel of the place, culture, and environment of life at the time. Compare the glitzy tractor-trailers at modern day drag races, loaded with dragsters, workshops, and kitchens with the AHRA’s seventh annual Championship in Texas circa the early 1960s. Chet Herbert’s Pontiac convertible is towing a twin-V-8 dragster on an open, two-wheel trailer dressed only with full white sidewalls. Smith fondly writes on Chet Herbert, "what an innovative individual he was.

Why not stage a drag race between the fastest hot roads and motorcycles? Well, it has already been done. It is a safe wager there are people who attend NHRA events today who were there more than 50 years ago for this event, a part of the Evans Speed Equipment story.

The Merchants of Speed conducted wind tunnel tests when such facilities were not even conceived. George "Ollie" Morris demonstrated his solution, along with revealing a plethora of racing secrets. The very fact he is in the book at all expresses some of the genius behind these stories. To this day, a key to success is hire smart, creative people. That is exactly why Ollie’s services were acquired by one of the most famous names in racing, Fred Offenhauser. As Smith describes Offenhauser’s success, "A common denominator … is the input of intelligent, business-savvy individuals. In all probability, Fred’s most fortunate business move was to acquire the services of George 'Ollie' Morris in 1954."

This review can only touch on the stories Smith gathered and the people he met on this journey, but in reading the book, one feels he really connected with them. Give him supreme credit for recognizing a need for the publication and cataloging their achievements. One senses the entrepreneurs appreciated his interest, his approach with obvious fascination about their lives.

Reward
To realize through these tales the incredible financial and personal risks our heroes of innovation shouldered to achieve their dreams is utterly humbling.

Another reoccurring consequence covered in these pages is people killed or maimed seemingly with metronomic frequency. Garages, workshops, and primitive dragsters lacked a hint of basic safety equipment considered standard today -- for example, a simple roll bar.

Some companies failed then just as we witness failures today because of innovation. The mainstay of the time, the Ford V-8 flathead, became outdated with the emergence of an overhead valve. Some adapted to the change; some did not. These stories and the human strain are painful but real. The lessons in these stories constitute a business course of life -- risk rewards, risk costs.

Although nostalgic, this is not a read in nostalgia but rather provides the reader an encyclopedia of success -- how to strive to bring one’s idea, one’s creations to a market intuition senses is there. It was a different era, but aren’t they all? It is this commonality of the entrepreneurial spirit that weaves through business history. With these earthy stories of men, metal, mettle, and machines, the performance parts market exploded, fueling championship drag racing and participation in motorsports to levels unimaginable.

Smith has gone directly to the source, the pioneers themselves, to conduct years of interviews to capture these tales first hand. In our interview he told me, "Hop Up Magazine did a 'meet the advertiser' article in each edition, and as a kid it fascinated me. I just thought, 'there is a need for this,'" to get these stories while they were still available. In retrospect, "I feel blessed I had the opportunity to meet them … several have died."

Smith told me a story from Betty Senter, how "they paid their monthly rent by match racing when a challenger would come along. I felt they were really innovative people who should be acknowledged for what they did."

Donna Navarro of Barney Navarro Racing Equipment fame added in the book’s Afterword her thoughts on "the kids who started this pandemic (of hot rodding) … conquering any dream they had … by trading, borrowing, scraping, and scrounging. Honor was alive and individuals counted." She called Smith, "another romanticist (who) ventured along and fell victim to the siren of the passion," of hot rodding and racing.

The reader is fortunate he put his love in this book.

Merchants of Speed is available at www.motorbooks.com.

Pass along your thoughts to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Editor's note: Paul D. Smith is not related to Phillip Gary Smith.

All information published on go2geiger.com is protected by all applicable copyright laws of the United States of America and is the sole property of go2geiger.com unless mentioned otherwise. It is intended solely for the private use of the individual reader and may not be retransmitted or reposted in any form without the prior written permission of go2geiger.com.

Media Matters: Emotions run high in Richmond

Phillip Gary Smith, go2geiger Columnist
Tuesday, 13 October 2009

One might have mistaken Virginia for Indy as sentiments over the first round pairing of John Force and Robert Hight were expressed in words that were razor sharp and incendiary. The ESPN2 interviewers fanned the flames with their relentless questioning while the cameras captured every flicker for us to enjoy.

This race-to-watch in the opening round was easy enough to spot in the brackets, as Mike Dunn pointed out. Force said he was racing this round heads up, "I’m here to race; I gotta make a move!"

A thoughtful Ace McCulloch explained, from his point of view, how the overlapping sponsorships at JFR created challenges for Force that teams with independent sponsorships did not have. "He’s dug himself a hole ... Force will lay down today" and allow Hight to win.

Alert viewers had to think, "Here we go again!"

Tony Pedregon was equally direct, commenting, "I’ll bet a million pesos Hight wins . . . the rig is in." He had been listening to Neil Young in his headphones, as he pointed out, getting ready for his round with Force’s Mike Neff. What was the song on his player? "Heart of Gold."

Austin Coil brought his calming influence to the scene, interviewed while waiting in the Ford SUV. He countered, "You bet this is a straight-up race." Noting that John Force needs to win the round for his own championship points, Austin said, "We’re still in the hunt."

Here is what transpired in the lap as Summit FastNews’ Rick Green explains:

"This got dramatic - Force made his burnout and Hight's crew thrashed, the car not firing. They finally got it fired and Hight made a quick burnout and an even quicker backup.

Force deep-staged and had the better light, but Hight was ahead by the time they went 60 feet."

Afterward, Hight quipped, "Did you see Force put out the top light on me? Ask him what that’s all about." Elon Werner explained in his JFR official account, "(Force) deep staged on his teammate, an aggressive move especially against your son-in-law."

Okay ... here is John Force’s explanation: "I had Robert aggravated at me because I went deep on him ... A lot of people are saying you want Robert to win or you want Ashley to win; what about me?"

So, why did Hight win? That is an easy answer: Broadcaster Mike Dunn picked Force, continuing his streak of dooming the chances of his selection.

John Force’s emotions spilled over on television when he was telecast watching daughter Ashley in the very next pair lose a pedal fest with Memphis winner, Jeff Arend. After she skipped sideways with the squirrely Funny Car, John muttered, "Son of a x#%#x!"

With the Funny Car class remaining the most exciting Countdown race, the fun is far from over, the excitement is intense ... and ESPN2 is all over it.

‘Thunder Returns One Final Time’: This sentiment, taken from the Virginia Motorsports Park Web site, is the goodbye to drag racing from the Old Dominion state. Will there ever be another ‘hello?’

One sign at the "RaceDay" show pointed out the possibility by referencing "Virginia Says Bye Again to NHRA," as the races have been there, done this before.

Speaking of signs, one showed real determination to get here: "Vermont to Virginia," roughly a 1,400 mile round trip. Why travel that far? Because Virginia produces some of the best conditions in the NHRA tour for performance-minded fans.

Perhaps Dave Rieff, in opening the show, said it better by modifying the state tag line, "Virginia is for Lovers of Drag Racing." Love, nonetheless, can be fleeting, and this affair is over.

Another pair: The "RaceDay" show discussed today’s rematch of Jeg Coughlin and Greg Stanfield, remembering the Indy final where the margin of victory between the two teams was a few inches. Now they are next to one another in the Countdown, and this race was a do-or-really-Dunn affair for either. Jeg loses, yet runs his career best speed and his quickest elapsed time of the season. That rates an ‘Ouch.’

A crazed Statman? Virginia Motorsports Park produced an incredible number of records for the NHRA, the track, and the teams. Keeping up with the records from one pair to the next was a harrowing task. Statman did it and kept the broadcasters informed and up-to-date on the rapidly changing info.

His best discovery of the day? Only four times in the last three years have non-Countdown cars won a final. What class has the best chance to do it today? "Funny Car," remarked Mike Dunn, "with four very good cars outside the chase." Worsham, a Countdown car, ended the day with the win but did so from the bottom half of the field. This class will be the big act in Vegas.

Biggest blow: Scott Palmer’s Top Fuel dragster ignites a huge fireball in his round with Spencer Massey. Meanwhile, Massey is smoking tires so Scott keeps at it and wins ("Upset city," exclaimed Paul Page) with a gigantic blowtorch trailing him through the lights. ESPN2 production crew gave us every angle in the replays, the best being an up close and personal side view of the turmoil going on in the engine.

Best appearing car: Not the flashiest paint job, no flames on the side, but the V. Gaines Kendall Pro Stock Stratus glistened clean and sleek in a losing affair to one of many records set by Mike Edwards during the day.

Did you notice?: ESPN2 has figured out a way to get reaction times on the screen when broadcasting a launch from in front of the Christmas tree. The numbers are in the upper portion of the shot and on the respective side of the screen with the designation "RT."

Not all laps showed it, like the Warren Johnson/Humphrey race, but the addition is really a big welcome. They wondered if anyone noticed. If you did, let me know what you think at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

All information published on go2geiger.com is protected by all applicable copyright laws of the United States of America and is the sole property of go2geiger.com unless mentioned otherwise. It is intended solely for the private use of the individual reader and may not be retransmitted or reposted in any form without the prior written permission of go2geiger.com.

Media Matters: Force Hood's star rising higher

Phillip Gary Smith, go2geiger Columnist
Tuesday, 06 October 2009

I seized an opportunity to ask Ashley Force Hood non-typical questions thanks to a Ford Motor Company interview session with some of their top performers in auto racing, I wondered how Ashley views her perch as the top female motor sports driver on the globe, according to my observation. Her thoughtful response might surprise you.

“I think our (sport) is so much more difficult, and the fact that women are in it is old news since so many have gone before ...  the focus is on my team and drag racing.”

Her comments carefully avoid exposing any lofty personal ego that would not represent the whole group-concept of JFR and carefully, by not reacting to the question of her ranking, dismissing any notion of her personal rising stardom.  

She obviously is a magnet for all race fans but particularly for her gender by commenting, “It is so exciting to see so many women and girls at races.”

She reminisced on attending events as a little girl and “now I’m on the other side of the rope, I know how it is to be a fan.”

She put that wholesome attitude to good use at Memphis on Saturday morning, before the qualifying rounds, where she met with a Girl Scout troop accompanied by their dads. Asked by one trooper how schooling prepared her for this career, Ashley did not talk about studying motors and tires rather, “It might seem surprising, but for me writing and speech classes have really come in handy.” She probably had not yet realized her success in a racing life would be determined by tiny fractions of a second either.

And what happens when two women powerhouses in motor racing, Ashley and Danica Patrick, star in the IndyCar Series, get together at a social event? Ashley said, “Danica came over and introduced herself. We talked about weddings; we were two women race car drivers talking like girls.”

"NHRA RaceDay" show

Mike Edwards: “Making a mockery of Pro stock if he can avoid mistakes,” in a strong statement by Dave Rieff.

Thanks, G-Man!: Gary Gerould began an interview in the cool, wet morning by thanking the race fans who turned out in bad conditions to attend the show.

Lucas Oil Rapid Fire: Noted Top Fuel is continuing to be a battle right down to the end of the season, providing terrific drag race entertainment.

Advice for all: What can we learn from this sport to apply to the other parts of our lives? Plenty, such as this comment by Tony Schumacher on handling big moments:

“Recognize big moments, prepare for it, and be ready for it.”

Do-or-Dunn line: Mike Dunn’s mark separating those in the Countdown to 1 who are still "in it" from those who are likely already toast is taken seriously in the pits. John Force in his time on stage during the program talked about the pressure this designation puts on teams to stay on the rankings "good side," having to explain the situation to the key spectator at a race, the team’s sponsor. John went so far to say, “My whole life is trying to get above that line – I’ll prove it to you even if I crash trying.”

Way to go, Mike, making those hard calls .

Before the Memphis results are in, his line reflects the best races remain in the two nitro classes as the top five are on the good side of his mark. Both Pro Stock classes have three teams still in the running.  

Is it possible for a team on the dark side of the line, in the "not likely" category, to win the Countdown? Although unlikely, some team could run the table, a kind of "Countdown Swing" like the Western Swing, winning max qualifying points, and end up as a winner. What a story THAT would be for the annals of drag racing.

Krista Marie imitation: Not likely to replace drag racing performer Krista in the singing department, but performed with as much heart, Hector Arana sang, “It feels good, ta-da da-da” when asked about his running a stunning Pro Stock Motorcycle elapsed time. It was a Miami version of a James Brown classic.  

Rick Green of Summit Fast News was humorous in his understated way with this account:

“Right Lane: Hector Arana...Runs  6.851/195.03, Now #1...Best prior Run: 7.033/189.44,  Was #12...I guess Arana must have solved his problems from yesterday. He makes a great pass here, the quickest in Pro Stock Motorcycle history, and he takes the pole for now.”

Having trouble keeping up with the points awarded during qualifying? Don’t sweat it, since Rick also keeps up with these for us and lists them at the conclusion of his daily reports.

Best action shot: Ever see a Pro Stock blower blow from the driver’s point of view? We got the chance by riding along with Jeg Coughlin.

Match-up to watch: Top Fuel teammates, Morgan Lucas and Shawn Langdon, are selected by Mike Dunn as the most interesting first round pairing.   

Too much time away from home: John Force sent along an “I Love Mike Dunn” to the amiable co-host at Dallas, letting Mike off the hook for his blunt analysis of the conflict witnessed at Indy. While interviewing John on this week’s show, Mike reached over and, as best he could with one of those microphones wrapped  around his mouth, bussed the Funny Car legend on the cheek. In polite circles, those are called ‘air kisses.’  

Best ‘keeping a sponsor happy’ award: Referring to how comfortable he is in his Auto Club Ford Mustang Funny Car, Robert Hight exclaimed, “My Funny Car is driving as good as my F-150!”  

Stat central: Where else would one find the Stat Man, Lewis Bloom, but in Stat Central? He cooked up this week’s stat-of-the-race that John Force is the first in drag racing history to be in the points contention for 25 years!

Sportsman Dallas Show

Dave Rieff announced the theme in the opening credits as “Young Guns and Heat,” perhaps an unintentional, but delightful, double entendre. Bob Frye commented on the soaring temperatures by uttering, “Unbearable!”

Best looking paint: Sportsman classes have the tops in cars and paint styles. My favorite was Jay Payne’s FireIce big flames on a white shell.

Best example of tire shake: With slow motion cameras, Brandon Lewis’ A/FD dragster bounces around wildly. This was so dramatic (“Worst I’ve ever seen,” noted Bob Frye) that Mike Dunn used it as an example to explain tire shake in the Memphis show.

Patron Tequilla Funny Car: Give Alexis De Joria credit for a grand performance at Dallas, particularly after her crash at Englishtown was replayed. Rick Green’s Summit Fast News account gives one enough material to imagine the potential horror:

“De Joria was trailing at 60 feet but got by (Fred)Tigges shortly afterward. As De Joria's car crossed the finish line, she let the chutes out. The chutes blossomed and came off the car. De Joria's car continued through the shutdown area and hit the first two safety nets and three rows of water barrels. De Joria was out of the car quickly and was walking around, so she appears to be okay.”

Not mentioned in the broadcast, but in the previous round at Englishtown Marty Nothstein suffered a similar crash:

At the end of the race, the chutes did not open on Nothstein's car. Nothstein hit the brakes hard and the car bounced as he tried to get it stopped. The car went into the sand trap and turned sideways as it hit the catch net. When the car hit the net, it turned over, then flipped back up on its wheels. Nothstein got out of the car right away and was walking around the shutdown area

Back to Dallas, Alexis makes the finals along with John Lombardo, Jr., both in their first ever race for a Wally. Lombardo passes her at the 1,000 foot mark to win the race, adding to father’s two wins back in the first half of the 1980’s. Quite a dramatic end for a dramatic class.

Let me know your thoughts on the broadcasts by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

All information published on go2geiger.com is protected by all applicable copyright laws of the United States of America and is the sole property of go2geiger.com unless mentioned otherwise. It is intended solely for the private use of the individual reader and may not be retransmitted or reposted in any form without the prior written permission of go2geiger.com.

Media Matters: Texas puts the heat on NHRA

Phillip Gary Smith, go2geiger Columnist
Tuesday, 29 September 2009

As the heat went up and the right lane went away at Texas Motorplex during the weekend, the drama and the tension got better with every round.

Opening the Final Eliminations broadcast with a broad overview of the race day, Paul Page exclaimed, "They do things big in Dallas!"

Take the big temperature at the O’Reilly Super Start Batteries Fall Nationals for example. Dave Rieff noted in his opening interview of the program, "It’s hot, hot, hot!" Except, perhaps, the right lane win-light -- it was cold as a frozen can of Full Throttle.

Looking at the big stories of the day, the broadcast covered them by interweaving commentary and features throughout the individual classes and rounds. The biggest story is the success of the playoff system; "The Countdown to the Championship has really done its job," noted Mike Dunn as he referred to the four Top Fuel teams within one round of the lead. His ‘do or die line’ separates the Countdown drivers in each class on the television visual by those who are already out of the running to those who are in the lead, close to the lead, or at least have a remaining shot at winning the championship.

This "line of demarcation" as it is termed in the cosmetics world really aids viewers in understanding the importance of pairings. For example in the second round of Pro Stock, two teams who are still on the "good" side of the mark, still in the running for the championship, meet in what turns out to be one of the closest finishes of the year.

Allen Johnson may have spelled his doom in losing this quarter-final match with Greg Anderson by one little-bitty inch with an opening win over Tom Hammonds. Why? It may have been in the numbers as his elapsed time in that victory was a devilish .666(6) – ouch!

How important was that inch? Greg Anderson, after winning the second round, goes on to take out points leader, Mike Edwards, who uncharacteristically had a mechanical issue, and seize the Wally with a final round win by only 9 inches, leaping to within a few rounds of the championship lead. "I can't remember stealing one like we did today," Anderson said in accepting his 59th Pro Stock Wally.

Mike Dunn earlier quipped one of the best lines of the weekend when referring to Edwards Pro Stock dominance, ignoring for the moment his car’s failure noted above: "As long as he lets the clutch out before Monday, he’s gonna win rounds."

Allen Johnson, whose margin of loss was less than the length of a Tennessee Snail Darter, may now be out of the run for the championship. We’ll see next week if he falls on the dark side of Mike Dunn’s ‘do or die line.’

Best signs: No better place to bring this up but here: one of the winning signs was marked on Allen’s back window: ‘Happy BD, Pap,’ for Roy Johnson’s birthday. Losing that round just may take the cake ...

Nice of someone in the "NHRA RaceDay" show audience – and a big crowd at that -- to hoist a sign with ‘Happy Birthday, Mike Dunn,’ noting the co-host’s success at aging.

Cory McClenathan day: Not really, but it just seemed this way. The affable points leader in Top Fuel not only was the guest for the "RaceDay" program but also was the subject of one of the final eliminations mini-features. In that, he gave a tour of his home-on-wheels, taking the audience into his personal abode which highlighted the couch, perfectly set up as he pointed out, to watch ESPN’s "SportsCenter" and ESPN2’s NHRA broadcasts. In a place of honor was a nice labeled glass canister filled with "brown," as a famous screen writer called his favorite liquor, sipped at bedtime I would imagine for medicinal purposes only. As a personal insight, he is a huge animal lover and quietly provides financial support for stray and injured pets.

In the opening film introducing Cory to the stage, his victory at Charlotte was replayed. Holding both the Wally and his can of Full Throttle to the camera at the awards presentation shows Cory is very aware of the promotional value of a race winner.

The Fram driver’s Dallas day ended early -- as did his first points lead in eleven years -- as he found himself in the slippery right lane for the quarterfinals race against Shawn Langdon’s Lucas Oil Dragster.

Big cheer: The loudest cheer of the day at the "RaceDay" show came when Ashley Force Hood’s point lead for the Funny Car crown was announced. "Can she win the championship?" asked Dave Rieff. Mike Dunn replied, "Absolutely! She’s getting better and better."

The qualifying race program had a second airing this weekend -- thank you very much, ESPN2 schedulers -- 90 minutes after "RaceDay," a more palatable time than midnight. Mike Dunn made this strong observation in that show: "Ashley’s bonus points (from qualifying rounds) will decide the (Funny Car) Championship."

In responding to Paul Page’s inquiry if these points affect qualifying, Mike responded, "Absolutely; it changes the strategy of qualifying."

Nice shot: Getting to ‘see’ inside the cockpit from the overhead camera, with the gauges and readouts explained by Mike, is always interesting. I think most viewers need a little more time to read the display, focus in on the digits, as they are being explained.

GEICO match-up to watch: A weekly feature of "RaceDay," selected by Mike Dunn. This week’s first round pitted Tony Pedregon – "He can’t afford two first round losses," noted Mike – and Bob Tasca. Bob had Tony in the slippery right lane which sealed his doom. Later, Tony commented, "We’re not going to get down over this." Del Worsham was more outspoken, having lost in the right lane to Ashley despite a big starting line advantage. He commented, "Not making any excuses, but this is the only track that has a noticeable disadvantage in one lane."

Best Krista Marie imitation: Looking for sponsorship, Greg Stanfield indicated that making the finals for the last two races made him aggressive. "I’m driving it like I stole it," using the popular tag from Krista Marie’s song that’s played several times during the NHRA broadcast. In his first round race with Ron Krisher, as Rick Green writes in his Fast News race commentary, "Stanfield is just a little too quick on the tree and turns on the red light," ruining a good chance of winning the lap as Krisher, slow out of the gate, ended up being the one stealing the round.

Top mini-feature: Jessica Horne, sister to Pro Motorcycle rookie-of-the-year contender Doug Horne, filmed Shawn Langdon’s race team. Not a candidate to replace ESPN2’s Dana Sherman or Nelson Jones as camera jockeys on the starting line, she still provided interesting images.

Bernstein’s 3.88 qualifying effort: "(This) is going to hold up well in this session," noted Mike Dunn on the fourth round qualifying effort in the heat. Although a casualty of the right lane in the quarterfinals to Larry Dixon, who survived to the finals, Brandon made it a close race, only losing by an eye blink when travelling at 308 mph.

Final eliminations kudos: So many television programs and event broadcasts spin around for what seems forever before the action starts. Not ESPN2 drag racing. The racing gets right at it from the get-go, within seconds of signing on. The build-up in drag racing is the racing ... thanks to the ESPN2 compound for getting the action broadcast now.

It’s about time: All final eliminations broadcast for the remainder of the season will start at the same time each race weekend, 7 p.m. (ET), so plan accordingly.

Going Broadway on four-wide drag racing: More time and interviews on the weekend broadcasts featured the two nitro classes in their modern day version of four-wide drag racing debut at Charlotte – always interesting. Reader Bob Crandall of Arizona tipped me off to a great piece of relevant history out of Wisconsin.

At the Great Lakes Dragway, Union Grove, four-wide racing began in 1966, according to track founder, "Broadway Bob" Metzler, because of the overwhelming number of entries at that time and the need to work through them all in a day. "We ran them this way for five years or so," he noted. "We also had rocket dragsters race four-wide but their aerodynamics were such that in the wind they would lift off, killing drivers."

He described a photo where he had a race with "four jets at a time . . . they were the Chicago Rush (driver unknown), USA-1 driven by Fred Sibley, Doug Rose’s Green Mamba, and ‘T.V. Tommy’ Ivo who didn’t need to name his dragster."

The energetic "Broadway Bob" opened the track in 1956 and still goes to every event, particularly Sunday’s race where a celebration was held to mark his 81st birthday.

Regarding his name, all I can reveal is he was in his late 20s, at his first Pomona race and dressed to the hilt when given this moniker that stuck.

Email me your thoughts . . . and tips. I do pay attention: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

All information published on go2geiger.com is protected by all applicable copyright laws of the United States of America and is the sole property of go2geiger.com unless mentioned otherwise. It is intended solely for the private use of the individual reader and may not be retransmitted or reposted in any form without the prior written permission of go2geiger.com.

Media Matters: The heat was the thing in Dallas

Phillip Gary Smith, go2geiger Columnist
Tuesday, 29 September 2009

Opening the Final Eliminations broadcast with a broad overview of the race day, Paul Page exclaimed, "They do things big in Dallas!"

Take the big temperature at the O’Reilly Super Start Batteries Fall Nationals for example. Dave Rieff noted in his opening interview of the program, "It’s hot, hot, hot!" Except, perhaps, the right lane win-light -- it was cold as a frozen can of Full Throttle.

Looking at the big stories of the day, the broadcast covered them by interweaving commentary and features throughout the individual classes and rounds. The biggest story is the success of the playoff system; "The Countdown to the Championship has really done its job," noted Mike Dunn as he referred to the four Top Fuel teams within one round of the lead. His ‘do or die line’ separates the Countdown drivers in each class on the television visual by those who are already out of the running to those who are in the lead, close to the lead, or at least have a remaining shot at winning the championship.

This "line of demarcation" as it is termed in the cosmetics world really aids viewers in understanding the importance of pairings. For example in the second round of Pro Stock, two teams who are still on the "good" side of the mark, still in the running for the championship, meet in what turns out to be one of the closest finishes of the year.

Allen Johnson may have spelled his doom in losing this quarter-final match with Greg Anderson by one little-bitty inch with an opening win over Tom Hammonds. Why? It may have been in the numbers as his elapsed time in that victory was a devilish .666(6) – ouch!

How important was that inch? Greg Anderson, after winning the second round, goes on to take out points leader, Mike Edwards, who uncharacteristically had a mechanical issue, and seize the Wally with a final round win by only 9 inches, leaping to within a few rounds of the championship lead. "I can't remember stealing one like we did today," Anderson said in accepting his 59th Pro Stock Wally.

Mike Dunn earlier quipped one of the best lines of the weekend when referring to Edwards Pro Stock dominance, ignoring for the moment his car’s failure noted above: "As long as he lets the clutch out before Monday, he’s gonna win rounds."

Allen Johnson, whose margin of loss was less than the length of a Tennessee Snail Darter, may now be out of the run for the championship. We’ll see next week if he falls on the dark side of Mike Dunn’s ‘do or die line.’

Best signs: No better place to bring this up but here: one of the winning signs was marked on Allen’s back window: ‘Happy BD, Pap,’ for Roy Johnson’s birthday. Losing that round just may take the cake ...

Nice of someone in the "NHRA RaceDay" show audience – and a big crowd at that -- to hoist a sign with ‘Happy Birthday, Mike Dunn,’ noting the co-host’s success at aging.

Cory McClenathan day: Not really, but it just seemed this way. The affable points leader in Top Fuel not only was the guest for the "RaceDay" program but also was the subject of one of the final eliminations mini-features. In that, he gave a tour of his home-on-wheels, taking the audience into his personal abode which highlighted the couch, perfectly set up as he pointed out, to watch ESPN’s "SportsCenter" and ESPN2’s NHRA broadcasts. In a place of honor was a nice labeled glass canister filled with "brown," as a famous screen writer called his favorite liquor, sipped at bedtime I would imagine for medicinal purposes only. As a personal insight, he is a huge animal lover and quietly provides financial support for stray and injured pets.

In the opening film introducing Cory to the stage, his victory at Charlotte was replayed. Holding both the Wally and his can of Full Throttle to the camera at the awards presentation shows Cory is very aware of the promotional value of a race winner.

The Fram driver’s Dallas day ended early -- as did his first points lead in eleven years -- as he found himself in the slippery right lane for the quarterfinals race against Shawn Langdon’s Lucas Oil Dragster.

Big cheer: The loudest cheer of the day at the "RaceDay" show came when Ashley Force Hood’s point lead for the Funny Car crown was announced. "Can she win the championship?" asked Dave Rieff. Mike Dunn replied, "Absolutely! She’s getting better and better."

The qualifying race program had a second airing this weekend -- thank you very much, ESPN2 schedulers -- 90 minutes after "RaceDay," a more palatable time than midnight. Mike Dunn made this strong observation in that show: "Ashley’s bonus points (from qualifying rounds) will decide the (Funny Car) Championship."

In responding to Paul Page’s inquiry if these points affect qualifying, Mike responded, "Absolutely; it changes the strategy of qualifying."

Nice shot: Getting to ‘see’ inside the cockpit from the overhead camera, with the gauges and readouts explained by Mike, is always interesting. I think most viewers need a little more time to read the display, focus in on the digits, as they are being explained.

GEICO match-up to watch: A weekly feature of "RaceDay," selected by Mike Dunn. This week’s first round pitted Tony Pedregon – "He can’t afford two first round losses," noted Mike – and Bob Tasca. Bob had Tony in the slippery right lane which sealed his doom. Later, Tony commented, "We’re not going to get down over this." Del Worsham was more outspoken, having lost in the right lane to Ashley despite a big starting line advantage. He commented, "Not making any excuses, but this is the only track that has a noticeable disadvantage in one lane."

Best Krista Marie imitation: Looking for sponsorship, Greg Stanfield indicated that making the finals for the last two races made him aggressive. "I’m driving it like I stole it," using the popular tag from Krista Marie’s song that’s played several times during the NHRA broadcast. In his first round race with Ron Krisher, as Rick Green writes in his Fast News race commentary, "Stanfield is just a little too quick on the tree and turns on the red light," ruining a good chance of winning the lap as Krisher, slow out of the gate, ended up being the one stealing the round.

Top mini-feature: Jessica Horne, sister to Pro Motorcycle rookie-of-the-year contender Doug Horne, filmed Shawn Langdon’s race team. Not a candidate to replace ESPN2’s Dana Sherman or Nelson Jones as camera jockeys on the starting line, she still provided interesting images.

Bernstein’s 3.88 qualifying effort: "(This) is going to hold up well in this session," noted Mike Dunn on the fourth round qualifying effort in the heat. Although a casualty of the right lane in the quarterfinals to Larry Dixon, who survived to the finals, Brandon made it a close race, only losing by an eye blink when travelling at 308 mph.

Final eliminations kudos: So many television programs and event broadcasts spin around for what seems forever before the action starts. Not ESPN2 drag racing. The racing gets right at it from the get-go, within seconds of signing on. The build-up in drag racing is the racing ... thanks to the ESPN2 compound for getting the action broadcast now.

It’s about time: All final eliminations broadcast for the remainder of the season will start at the same time each race weekend, 7 p.m. (ET), so plan accordingly.

Going Broadway on four-wide drag racing: More time and interviews on the weekend broadcasts featured the two nitro classes in their modern day version of four-wide drag racing debut at Charlotte – always interesting. Reader Bob Crandall of Arizona tipped me off to a great piece of relevant history out of Wisconsin.

At the Great Lakes Dragway, Union Grove, four-wide racing began in 1966, according to track founder, "Broadway Bob" Metzler, because of the overwhelming number of entries at that time and the need to work through them all in a day. "We ran them this way for five years or so," he noted. "We also had rocket dragsters race four-wide but their aerodynamics were such that in the wind they would lift off, killing drivers."

He described a photo where he had a race with "four jets at a time . . . they were the Chicago Rush (driver unknown), USA-1 driven by Fred Sibley, Doug Rose’s Green Mamba, and ‘T.V. Tommy’ Ivo who didn’t need to name his dragster."

The energetic "Broadway Bob" opened the track in 1956 and still goes to every event, particularly Sunday’s race where a celebration was held to mark his 81st birthday.

Regarding his name, all I can reveal is he was in his late 20s, at his first Pomona race and dressed to the hilt when given this moniker that stuck.

Email me your thoughts . . . and tips. I do pay attention: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Meida Matters: Plenty of passion at zMax Dragway

Phillip Gary Smith, go2geiger Columnist
Thursday, 24 September 2009

Dave Rieff exclaimed, “Stock cars step aside! Drag racing is here ... and will show how passionate these teams are!” Fans are showing their passion, too, if the email response to the Indy theatrics is any indication.

The beautiful zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C, takes the nitro-laced cake for pizzazz and delight. With the double excitement coming into this race -- the Countdown getting underway plus the consternation between rival teams bubbling under the surface – the weekend was set up perfectly for a great broadcast. The ESPN2 crew did just that by masterly weaving both stories into the broadcasts all weekend while providing exciting coverage of qualifying and eliminations.  

Mike Dunn started it off with, “I’m excited!” reflecting the mood of fans, teams, and the broadcast team. Coming off the Indy-of-all-Indy’s, a letdown could have been the order of the day for the television team, but no way did that happen. The extended time between these races just seemed to increase the drama rather than dampen it or as Mike predicts, “This (tension between teams) will boil over sometime in the (Countdown) series.”

Take, for example, the guest on the "NHRA Today" show, none other than a very-much-in-control Tony Pedregon who was spectacular. I liked it when the crowd didn’t react to a remark he made. Turning around he good-naturedly said something along the lines of, “Come on, now,” encouraging them to see his way.  

Dave Rieff commented, “Some lines are drawn in the sand.”

Tony replied, “We all have disagreements, but this is a pretty good way to start the Countdown!”

Former nitro pilot, Whit Bazemore, was reported to have used the word ‘hypocrite’ in his criticism of the Pedregons. Tony fired straight back, never flinching.

In a taped interview shown during the race, Shirley Muldowney gave Tony kudos for standing his ground “straight up” at the Indy Incident, not backing down, and not over-reacting. She reminded us that Tony has a boxing background .  

John Force, interviewed in his pits while Tony was still on the dais, delivered one of the best lines of the day: “Thanks for the motorcycles beating up on each other, it takes the heat off me!” referring to an incident during qualifying between two teams having an inspired disagreement at the line which was caught on television (way to go, starting line cameramen!).  

John said he was going to pipe down – yeah, right – when he said, “I’m getting out of Hollywood.” Thank heaven, for the promotional good of the sport, it is impossible for him to ever stop talking.

Mike Dunn had critiqued the Force antics at Indy, leading with “I can’t sugar coat this,” but John, like an after-thought on the show, managed to close his interview like only he can by saying, “... and, I love Mike (Dunn).”  

John was out of Hollywood for all of about three seconds.

Asked about the rivalries in the sport, Tony brought up the king of adversaries for John Force, the late Al Hoffman, commenting he now understands the kind of pressure Al had to face. I recall whenever Force and Hoffman came to the line together, the crowd always got up for it: the pro-Force contingent versus the pro-Hoffman contingent; the anti-Force group battling the anti-Hoffman group, with some fans teetering between both categories and camps. Remember: as a fan, as a sport, and as a broadcast, you need someone to root against; it is all part of the drama.

What fun ... and the Final Eliminations hadn’t even begun.

Paul Page opened the race broadcast with a great replay of the shenanigans at Indy, then Force explaining, “It got out of control.”  

Tony noted, “I’m happy our audience is so passionate.” Absolutely correct; Tony nailed the plus side of this whole affair, and that is fans now have a big story to support, to choose sides, one that embraces emotions and brings up the interest in the sport to a fevered pitch.  

The broadcast continued interweaving the story throughout the race by having Gary Gerould in John Force’s pit while Dave Rieff kept the microphone in front of Tony. John Kiernan interviewed Cruz – remember Cruz was the driver knocked out of the top 10 and here he comes to Charlotte an qualifies No. 1. Then the very driver who was the benefactor of the gaining the Countdown to 1 spot, courtesy of team owner, John Force, won the race; Robert Hight leaped toward first place with the victory. The broadcast was right on top of this excitement.

One couldn’t script it any better unless, perhaps, Cruz had won his semi-final race against Matt Hagan, setting up a final round with Robert. It just didn’t happen that way. But in a terrific race, two Force teammates, Ashley Force Hood and Robert Hight, battled in the finals with Hight winning by 19 inches at 305 mph.  

Maybe Mike Dunn’s words will come true -- “This will boil over sometime in the series” – by having Dallas brackets full of Pedregon team/Force team match-ups, ending with a dream finale of Tony versus John. Think anyone would leave the television or race track with that coming up?

Best insight: Shawn Langdon’s top fuel dragster wins a lap, Mike Dunn exclaims, “He has been hot on the tree all year!” He also won the light in the finals, but losing cylinders, lost to Cory McClenathan.

Four wide race: Best part of this special race was John Force travelling full track during his burn out. Commenting afterwards, he said, “When I was doing my burn out I thought this is really cool. I made one of the longest burnouts of my career before that race. I wanted to give the fans a show. Bruton and Marcus Smith have built us this palace to race in, and I wanted to thank them for the opportunity to race here. We are in the heart of NASCAR country but we showed a packed house how exciting and unbelievable Full Throttle Drag Racing can be.” Who could have said it better?

One way to spice up ‘the show’ at the track would be to encourage longer burnouts since they are so popular with the fan base. The official argument against would be led by the notion, “Well, that takes time,” but I would wager that would not be an issue with the people in the seats.

The best history lesson of the day came with the information the first four wide race was at a Maryland dragway in 1973.

ESPN2 cameras: Always ready to catch any action and report it to the viewers, this crew really doesn’t miss much. An example was Dana Sherman cutting in, while lugging his camera around the line for the start of a first round  Top Fuel race between Terry Haddock and Larry Dixon, “Trouble on Haddock; they’re not gonna let him go!”

Who would’ve thunk it?: No joke -- ESPN2 cameras spot Tony Pedregon and John Force smiling and talking while on their scooters near the start line watching Top Fuel first round.

Best image: Bill Reichert’s first round Top Alcohol Dragster single (opponent “Fiorelli is not able to make the call after running into the safety net” reported Fast News) is replayed, showing him carrying the front end nearly the entire quarter mile (Wow!), with commentary by Mike Dunn.  

Who’s That?: In the "NHRA RaceDay" show audience, Doug Herbert was spotted wearing his neat lime green shirt, matching his top fuel dragster’s paint scheme. It is nice to have drivers mingle and enjoy the show with the race fans. It is a good way as a team to attract new fans, too. Continue to give these drivers some camera time like this, and I bet they will continue populating the audience every week.

Nice feature: Having the crew members of a team introduce themselves is always interesting; one listens closely to hear their job title and where the hometowns are. The job I would be most qualified for on a race team? Easy . the go-pher.

Mr. Positive?: Is anyone as good as Jeg Coughlin in describing a situation, like the Countdown where he loses his big point lead, in a way that is couched in positives? Plus, he doesn’t flinch at all when he says it.

Okay, e-mailers, what did YOU think of the Charlotte broadcast and interviews? Let me know at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

All information published on go2geiger.com is protected by all applicable copyright laws of the United States of America and is the sole property of go2geiger.com unless mentioned otherwise. It is intended solely for the private use of the individual reader and may not be retransmitted or reposted in any form without the prior written permission of go2geiger.com.